NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Harris' Sparrow
Zonotrichia querula (Nuttall, 1840)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Harris's sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada (primarily the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan), making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863).
Wikipedia contributors, Harris's sparrow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:16.558181+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Zonotrichia querula (Nuttall, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Nuttall, 1840)
- Common name
- Harris' Sparrow
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Zonotrichia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPasserellidae
- genusZonotrichia Swainson, 1832
- speciesZonotrichia querula (Nuttall, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Zonotrichia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | PasserellidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Golden-crowned SparrowZonotrichia atricapilla (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | PasserellidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-collared SparrowZonotrichia capensis (P. L. S. Müller, 1776) | PasserellidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys (J. R. Forster, 1772) | PasserellidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Fringilla querula Nuttall, 1840 Nuttall, 1840 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179454 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5D769. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.